December 11, 2007

Renee Anderson has a new book out called My Life Married to the Badge.

Renee started writing online over 3 years ago about her life married to an LAPD narcotics officer and is still going strong. What began as a quest to reach out to other wives of law enforcement, sharing stories of both humor and heartache, turned into a wonderful discovery. No matter the location or department, we all go through the same ups and downs that life with an officer can bring. And it's nice to know that we're not alone. This book takes you through Renee's life with Officer Jake and shares personal stories of her fun, often frustrating and yet always fantastic life married to the badge.

December 10, 2007

On November 17, 61-year old Joe Horn, of Pasadena, Texas, armed himself with a shotgun and killed two men who were burglarizing his next-door neighbor, despite being repeatedly told that the police were only moments away. Horn had called 9-1-1 to report the burglary and was ordered by the dispatcher to stay in his home and not confront the two suspects.

In fact, Pasadena Police have since revealed that a plainclothes officer in an unmarked car had just pulled up to the scene and was observing the suspects, waiting for uniformed officers. The officer saw Horn confront, then shoot, both burglars, although police say neither man made a threatening move towards Horn. The first suspect shot did turn towards Horn, but, according to the plainclothes officer, was simply running away, not threatening Horn in any way. The other suspect was then shot as he also tried to run away.

Both suspects died at the scene. Neither of them was armed, although, during the 9-1-1 call, Horn did report that the men initially had a crowbar, which they has used to force entry into the home. Horn clearly states that he doesn't know if the men had weapons. His only hope here is that he did say that he was afraid, although he clearly had no reason to be.

December 05, 2007

It's too early to tell if this incident is related to the recent FBI warning about terrorist attacks in shopping malls during the holidays, but it does appear than there was a lone gunman, dressed in fatigues and possibly a flak jacket/bullet resistant vest, armed with some type of rifle.

***UPDATED***: Local news is reporting that nine are dead, including the suspect, and several more have been shot. Although the suspect was reported to have been arrested early on, it now appears he died of a SIGSW at the scene. Also seems he was acting alone...

It's the silly season, so keep your eyes and ears open, folks. There are bound to be people out there who think that this was a good idea and try something similar...

***UPDATED***: The shooter has been identified as Robert A. Hawkins, 19, of Bellevue, Nebraska. He had a minor arrest record and has been on anti-depressants, probably suicidal. His mother apparently walked into the local SO with a note that "could be interpreted as suicidal."

What is it lately with every suicidal PoS feeling like they have to take large numbers of innocent people with them? If you want to kill yourself, that's your choice, but why destroy the lives of so many other innocent people?

The Bush administration intends to slash counterterrorism funding for police, firefighters and rescue departments across the country by more than half next year, according to budget documents obtained by The Associated Press.

[...]

The plan calls for outright elimination of programs for port security, transit security, and local emergency management operations in the next budget year. This is President Bush's last budget, and the new administration would have to live with the funding decisions between Jan. 20 and Sept. 30, 2009.

WTF?? Whatever happened to our first responders being our first and best line of defense against terrorists? And you have to figure that soft targets like ports, trains, buses, etc. are some of the primary targets of these people (not that we've done much to secure them since 9-11, anyway).

Cutting CT funds to local cops, firefighters, hospitals and rescue teams around the country is the last thing that POTUS should be doing. Those are the people that need the money the most. If we've learned anything from Katrina and the recent Southern California wildfires (and I'm not saying that we have), it's that it takes the government time to gather resources and respond effectively to a major incident. Therefore, we can rightly conclude that such incidents will be handled by local authorities who must be prepared to respond effectively to contain and stabilize the incident, protect the remaining infrastructure, effect immediate rescue efforts and minimize and treat casualties.

But they can't do that without the best training and equipment that money can buy. And that costs money that most jurisdictions, especially the smaller ones, just don't have.

We know that criminals, gang members and terrorists are coming here at an alarming rate, yet the government still refuses to close our borders, beef up our military and secure our nation. And now this plan will cut in half the assistance that they provide to the very people who will be responding to a disaster or critical incident. That, friends, is bullshit.

November 19, 2007

I've written on many occasions that POTUS and Congress lack the courage to close our borders and put an end to illegal immigration. For them, it's not an issue of security, or money or right and wrong....but rather, votes.

They built a few miles of border fence to appease the overwhelming frustration that most Americans feel over the issue, but it was an empty gesture, at best. Neither the Conservatives nor the Liberals - those in office at present, anyway - have the courage to do the right thing and protect our nation.

Is it too much to ask that people who come here from other countries obey our laws or learn to speak our language? Why, yes it is, apparently.

A Republican move to make English the official, and exclusive, language for Congressional debate failed in a party-line vote today following an apparent filibuster threat by the House Hispanic Caucus, whose members made impassioned pleas from the House floor in Spanish.

And it's finally clear who is driving Nancy Pelosi's bus: the Hispanic Caucus.

Rep. Pelosi said that in addition to allowing Hispanic Salvation Army store workers to chat with each other in Spanish while serving monolingual American customers, she intends to push for legislation requiring Salvation Army bell-ringers to demonstrate “a greater diversity of cultural rhythmic patterns in their ringing.”

“The monotonous back-and-forth motion employed by most Salvation Army bell-ringers,” said Rep. Pelosi, “reminds many of our minority friends of their historic oppression by Anglo Saxon persecutors whose idea of music is listening to a metronome ticking in 4/4 time.”

Unbelievable, really. But I have an Eskimo friend who is equally affronted whenever an ice cream truck drives by, so I feel the pain of our Anglo Saxon-oppressed minority friends. Hell, if they feel that oppressed, maybe they should go back to their own country and be oppressed by their corrupt government and roaming bands of criminals, instead.

What did Tony Blair say? Something like you can tell a lot about a nation by looking at who is trying to get in and who is trying to get out.

November 18, 2007

The Homeland Security National Terror Alert is reporting that KOLD News 13 in Tucson, Arizona, has run a special report on a potential terrorist attack in southern Arizona, and possibly Fort Huachuca.

The document gives no timetable or explanation of how the threat will be carried out.

But it does say, “a group of Iraqis may have entered the United States through tunnels from Mexico into Arizona,” and those same “Iraqis are believed to be the ones who will perpetrate the attack on Fort Huachuca.

The FBI alert that sparked the KOLD News report was issued mid-May of this year.

I've written extensively about the fact that Middle Eastern terrorists are being smuggled into the U.S. through the Mexican border, and that they are also teaming up with drug cartels from Mexico and other Latin America countries. It's also been widely reported that al Qaeda is recruiting Western-looking, English speaking terrorists to conduct operations in the U.S., England and Australia. Many are reportedly posing as Hispanic nationals.

Since it doesn't look like POTUS or Congress has the interest - or the courage - to do the right thing and close our borders, we can expect more of these alerts in the coming months.

November 15, 2007

According to the five-count indictment, Bonds lied to a federal grand jury in December 2003 when asked about his use of steroids. During that appearance, Bonds, 43, repeatedly denied that his trainer, Greg Anderson, provided him with performance-enhancing drugs like human growth hormone and the illegal products distributed by the notorious Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative. Under oath, Bonds clamed that one cream proferred by Anderson was flaxseed oil. "And I was at the ballpark, whatever, I don't care. What's lotion going to do to me? How many times have I heard that: 'This is going to rub into you and work.'" Federal prosecutors apparently will seek to prove that the purported flaxseed oil was, in fact, one of BALCO's illegal salves, which were known as "the clear" and "the cream." That charge, the indictment indicates, will apparently be buttressed by results showing that Bonds has tested positive for steroids: "During the criminal investigation, evidence was obtained including positive tests for the presence of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances for Bonds and other athletes."

Just two days ago, I posted on the fact that the LAPD would finally begin to "build data" on the Muslim community in the L.A. area. LAPD Deputy Chief Michael P. Downing, commander of the CT Bureau, which would have conducted the operation, insisted that the efforts would serve to identify "at risk communities," including those of the Pakistanis, Iranians and Chechens, in an effort to reach out to those communities, build a rapport and ultimately prevent terrorist attacks.

The bold plan would have had the data collected by the University of Southern California's Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events.

Incredibly, the LAPD has shelved the program just forty-eight hours later, submitting to the will of several local Muslim groups and the ACLU, who insisted the program was tantamount to "racial profiling."

"There was a clear message from the Muslim community that they were not comfortable with it. So we listened," said Mary Grady, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department. She couldn't immediately say when the plan might resume.

Grady said the remaining part of the initiative, which includes outreach efforts to strengthen ties with Muslim communities, would continue, and police planned to meet with Muslim leaders Thursday. Source.

Naturally, the executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, Salam Al-Marayati, was all for dumping the oppressive, illegal, offensive security precautions.

"I am glad to hear (Downing) is putting the plan aside," Al-Marayati said. "All Muslim organizations are united in purpose to defend the rights of Muslim Americans while developing a positive and constructive relationship with the LAPD."

What do you call it when political correctness goes so amok that it places the entire community of Southern California at risk of attack, and the potential loss of tens of thousands of lives?

November 14, 2007

The LAPD will launch a new program to gather information on Muslim communities and groups in Southern California, LAPD Deputy Chief Michael P. Downing, commander of the CT bureau, told a U.S. Senate committee recently.

Naturally, the ACLU, the Los Angeles Times and several Muslim groups are already complaining about "racial profiling."

November 09, 2007

The FBI has warned law enforcement officials nationwide that Islamic Jihadists may attempt to try to attack shopping malls, especially in Los Angeles and Chicago, this holiday season.

"Out of abundance of caution, and for any number of other reasons, raw intelligence is regularly shared within the intelligence and law enforcement communities -- even when the value of the information is unknown," said Special Agent Richard Kolko. "In the post-9/11 era, sharing information is our top priority. Al-Qa'ida messaging has clearly stated they intend to attack the U.S. or its interests; however, there is no information to state this is a credible threat. As always, we remind people to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity to authorities."

"We have no credible, specific information suggesting an imminent attack," a DHS official said.Source.

We get these general warnings every holiday season and there doesn't seem to be anything to indicate that this is anything more than a "keep your eyes open" kind of deal. However, a mall full of shoppers with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads does make an appealing "soft" target for IED's or a suicide bomber.

The "11/11 cyber terrorism plot" threat seems to be a warning in a similar vein.